History Trivia / AidaVerdi

** Due to opera's tradition of ColorblindCasting, often the mezzo-soprano or contralto playing Amneris is black too. It was not at all unusual to see Price facing off with somebody like Grace Bumbry. And until Price came along, it was perfectly normal for Aida to be played by a white singer (until very recently, often in dark makeup, as this was considered respectful and not offensive; in the 2020s, this is considered outmoded and extremely racist).

** Due to opera's tradition of ColorblindCasting, often the mezzo-soprano or contralto playing Amneris is black too. It was not at all unusual to see Price facing off with somebody like Grace Bumbry. And until Price came along, it was perfectly normal for Aida to be played by a white singer (often in dark makeup, as this was considered respectful and not offensive).

*** 1959, conducted by Herbert von Karajan: Renata Tebaldi, Giulietta Simionato, Carlo Bergonzi, Cornell MacNeil, Arnold van Mill

** Interestingly enough, this was averted by famous Black-American soprano Leontyne Price. In 1958, she was invited to sing Aida at the Met Opera, but she was encouraged to turn it down by Peter Herman Adler, the director of the NBC Opera, and other people, in favour of making her debut there in a non-stereotypically black role. Instead, she debuted as the Spanish noblewoman Leonora in ''Theatre/{{Il trovatore}}'' in 1961, another Verdi opera, which allowed her to sing a variety of roles in her vocal range such as Donna Anna (Spanish), Cio-Cio-San (Japanese), Tatyana (Russian), and Tosca (Italian). And while she did sing Aida several times in her career, she was never limited to just that role.

** Due to opera's tradition of ColorblindCasting, often the mezzo-soprano or contralto playing Amneris is black too. It was not at all unusual to see Price facing off with somebody like Grace Bumbry. And it's perfectly normal for Aida to be played by a white singer (often in dark makeup, as this was considered respectful and not offensive).

*** 1961, conducted by Georg Solti: Leontyne Price, Rita Gorr, Jon Vickers, Robert Merrill, Giorgio Tozzi

* AllStarCast: As a famous opera, there are plenty of famous singers who record and perform together.

*** 1955, conducted by Jonel Perlea: Croatian soprano Zinka Milanov as Aida, Italian contralto Fedora Barbieri as Amneris, Swedish tenor Jussi Björling as Radames, American baritone Leonard Warren as Amonasro, and Bulgarian bass Boris Christoff as Ramfis.
*** 1959, conducted by Herbert von Karajan: Italian soprano Renata Tebaldi as Aida, Italian mezzo-soprano Giulietta Simionato as Amneris, Italian tenor Carlo Bergonzi as Radames, American baritone Cornell MacNeil as Amonasro, and Dutch bass Arnold van Mill as Ramfis.
*** 1961, conducted by Georg Solti: Black-American soprano Leontyne Price as Aida, Belgian mezzo-soprano Rita Gorr as Amneris, Canadian tenor Jon Vickers as Radames, American baritone Robert Merrill as Amonasro, and American bass Giorgio Tozzi as Ramfis.
*** 1967, conducted by Zubin Mehta: Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson as Aida, Black-American mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry as Amneris, Italian tenor Franco Corelli as Radames, Italian baritone Mario Sereni as Amonasro, and Italian bass Bonaldo Giaiotti as Ramfis.
*** 1970, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf: Leontyne Price as Aida (again), Grace Bumbry as Amneris (again), Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo as Radames, American baritone Sherrill Milnes as Amonasro, and Italian bass-baritone Ruggero Raimondi as Ramfis.
*** 1974, conducted by Claudio Abbado: Black-American soprano Martina Arroyo as Aida, Italian mezzo-soprano Fiorenza Cossotto as Amneris, Plácido Domingo as Radames, Italian baritone Piero Cappuccilli as Amonasro, and Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov as Ramfis.
*** 1979, conducted by Herbert von Karajan: Italian soprano Mirella Freni as Aida, Greek mezzo-soprano Agnes Baltsa as Amneris, Spanish tenor José Carreras as Radames, Italian baritone Piero Cappuccilli as Amonasro, and Ruggero Raimondi as Ramfis.

*** 1989, conducted by James Levine at the Met Opera: American soprano Aprile Millo as Aida, American mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick as Amneris, Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo as Radames, American baritone Sherrill Milnes as Amonasro, and Georgian bass Paata Burchuladze as Ramfis.
*** 2007, conducted by Riccardo Chailly at the Teatro alla Scala: Lithuanian soprano Violeta Urmana as Aida, Hungarian mezzo-soprano Ildíko Komlósi as Amneris, French tenor Roberto Alagna as Radames, and Italians Carlo Guelfi and Giorgio Giuseppini as Amonasro and Ramfis, respectively.

*** 1955, conducted by Jonel Perlea: Croation soprano Zinka Milanov as Aida, Italian contralto Fedora Barbieri as Amneris, Swedish tenor Jussi Bjoerling as Radames, American baritone Leonard Warren as Amonasro, and Bulgarian bass Boris Christoff as Ramfis.

*** 2007, conducted by Riccardo Chailly: Lithuanian soprano Violeta Urmana as Aida, Hungarian mezzo-soprano Ildíko Komlósi as Amneris, French tenor Roberto Alagna as Radames, and Italians Carlo Guelfi and Giorgio Giuseppini as Amonasro and Ramfis, respectively.

*** 1970, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf: Black-American soprano Leontyne Price as Aida (again), Black-American mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry as Amneris, Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo as Radames, American baritone Sherrill Milnes as Amonasro, and Italian bass-baritone Ruggero Raimondi as Ramfis.
*** 1972, conducted by Claudio Abbado: Black-American soprano Martina Arroyo as Aida, Italian mezzo-soprano Fiorenza Cossotto as Amneris, Plácido Domingo as Radames, Italian baritone Piero Cappuccilli as Amonasro, and Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov as Ramfis.

*** 1970, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf: Black-American soprano Leontyne Price as Aida, Black-American mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry as Amneris, Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo as Radames, American baritone Sherrill Milnes as Amonasro, and Italian bass-baritone Ruggero Raimondi as Ramfis.

*** 1972, conducted by Claudio Abbado: Black-American soprano Martina Arroyo as Aida, Italian mezzo-soprano Fiorenza Cossotto as Amneris, Plácido Domingo as Radames, Italian baritone as Amonasro, and Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov as Ramfis.